FOX Populi

by Laura Platt, LEED AP
Project Designer

Not every company gets recognized by leaders from two of the world’s superpowers in the same year. In 2010, just prior to his election as British prime minister, David Cameron acknowledged Opower in an address at the London TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) conference. A month later, President Obama made a personal appearance at Opower’s headquarters in Arlington, Virginia to deliver a speech and to praise the organization’s achievements in the clean-tech industry. The following year, Opower received recognition from the New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN for its leadership in promoting energy efficiency through software. Opower ended 2011 on Forbes’ top 20 list of America’s Most Promising Companies. Not bad for a company that hasn’t even hit its five year anniversary. 

Founded in 2007, Opower develops software

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by Bob Fox, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP
Principal

Coworking has gained significant momentum in the modern workplace and will very soon be a mainstream real estate option for large and small companies alike.  If you are in a traditional office environment now - you have probably noticed that at any given point during the week half of your coworkers are missing, or taking advantage of “mobile workforce” technology.  If you are the CFO, you realize that you are still paying for the unused space in one form or another, whether it is lighting, air conditioning, or other recurrent costs that affect your bottom line. 

Coworking centers are popping up all over metropolitan areas, and they come in a variety of sizes, shapes and styles.  Theses Coworking facilities essentially represent a variable cost, or a “pay as you go” option; not unlike a parking space.  These facilities already

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by Nicole Antil, IIDA, LEED AP, NCIDQ
Project Designer

When you think of workplace design what words come to mind? Collaboration, interaction and branding are words that are often used and sometimes overused in describing the future of the workplace. However, FOX Architects recently completed two regional offices for CBRE and the design team put those words to great use!

Collaboration and Interaction

CBRE, a global leader in real estate services, selected FOX to design both their Bethesda, MD and McLean, VA offices. FOX was challenged to meet the global standards of the corporate guidelines, and maintain the connection to the local community that supports the needs of both their clients and employees. The FOX design team became the bridge between CBRE’s international worldview and their local client driven-mission. As the Senior Project Designer, this was such a great

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by Jim Allegro, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP
Principal

In an increasingly more competitive landscape, law firms are striving to gain an advantage over their competitors. One of the most effective ways for a law firm to gain that edge is by greening their practice. A green practice provides enumerable benefits to the firm, from attracting and retaining top young talent to reducing the firm’s utility bills. Though greening a practice – whether in an existing space or during relocation – seems like a daunting task, there are several cost-effective options to simplify the process.

If greening your law practice is either time or cost prohibitive, focus on a low-cost step or small change. A few easy steps include:

• Form a green committee to elicit staff support and buy-in
• Create a sustainable mission statement for your law office
• Select Energy Star rated products when replacing old or

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by Erin Orr, CPSM
Marketing Director

Client Maintenance is an essential aspect of marketing in our firm's culture that addresses the retention of clients, which translates to longer term profits. In fact, the cost of acquiring new clients is seven times more than the cost to retain existing clients. Our existing clients and the relationships we nurture and develop into repeat business are the lifeblood of the firm—without them we cannot survive. Dedication to client satisfaction and the ability not to just satisfy our clients but rather "delight" them is something that is built into our firm's "blueprint" (or Revit model) for long-term success.  

Why Delight–So What?
So how do we "delight" our clients? It's simple: Provide them more than what they are expecting. Client maintenance should be focused on serving and listening rather than selling on an immediate solution.

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